When you’ve already built the craziest pony car of all time, where do you go from there? Well, a new report claims that Ford is getting ready to reveal a brand new sports car in January, and we can’t help but get a little bit excited. Partly because any new sports car in this era of automotive uncertainty is welcome, and partly because it sounds like whatever’s coming is being engineered by Ford Racing.
If you’ve been following Formula 1, you probably know that Ford will be the engine supplier for Red Bull and Racing Bulls come 2026, and with next season’s launch coming up in a couple of months, it’ll soon be time to roll out the red carpet. It’s the perfect opportunity for a little surprise, and that’s exactly what a new report from Autocar claims is coming.
Ford Racing is on the cusp of unveiling its first “all-new” sports car since its motorsport and road-car operations were merged.
At its 2026 season launch event on 15 January, it will provide a first glimpse at the new car, described by Ford Racing chief Mark Rushbrook as “a testament to how deeply we’re integrating our racing innovation into the vehicles you drive every day”.
Hang on a second. With the Mustang covering the mass-market sport coupe segment and the Mustang GTD taking things all the way up to Porsche 911 GT3 RS territory, where would a new sports car fit in? There’s a chance it might just go all the way to the tippy-top, which isn’t exactly unprecedented.
The first reborn Ford GT debuted for 2005. The second? A little over a decade later. Given past patterns, it wouldn’t be unprecedented for Ford to reboot the franchise again, although it would have to be in a different form than last time, considering Multimatic has its hands full building the Mustang GTD. While the second-generation Ford GT did secure a GTE-Pro class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it didn’t secure an outright win. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that faster classes of car race at Le Mans, the latest and greatest of which is the Le Mans Hypercar class. As of 2025, only one Le Mans Hypercar has been homologated for road use, the Aston Martin Valkyrie.
If anything, the Mustang GTD has proven that there’s appetite for mega-money Fords, provided they’re crazy and emotive enough. Successfully selling a Mustang for more than $300,000, combined with current resale values of second-generation Ford GTs, suggests there’s headroom for Ford to do something really crazy.
Then again, we might not see a teaser of a new GT in January. After all, automakers have stretched the definition of “all-new” before, and rumors have been flying about several other intriguing projects. At a dealer meeting last year, Ford reportedly showed off a rendering of a Mustang Raptor, an all-American off-road pony car that would conceptually blend the principles behind cars like the Porsche 911 Dakar and Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato with a V8 backbeat. Regardless, all eyes will be on the blue oval come January.
Top graphic image: Ford
Finally, it’s the rebirth of the Probe!
All Ford has said is “The first production vehicle born from this new Ford Racing mindset will debut this January.” (from Sept. press release about Ford Performance rebranding as Ford Racing) and “For the first time ever, fans worldwide will also get an exclusive sneak peek at an all-new Ford Racing production road car…” (yesterday’s release about the Jan. kickoff event for the 2026 race season). Could be a new GT. Could be a Probe.
Could be a new Falcon. Maybe get Eric Bana to promo it.
Or they could go the other way and do something more like the Miata or Toyobaru.
Fiesta chassis?
Wait you mean Ford making a car have they done that on the last 60 years?
I mean it would be proper to create a new platform that could support anything from a small commuter to a rip snorting boy racer car, even a wagon. After all Henrick von Ford did that with the model T, it was everything from a coupe to a truck..
And OMG that exactly what the Fiesta/Focus was.. Never mind, that’ll never happen, makes way too much sense.
Spend the money on a quality improvement program to reduce recalls and call it the gt40 program.
Yay, another unobtainable vehicle.
As the 1% and 0.1% continue to put light years of distance between their wealth and the leftovers for the proletariat, every auto manufacturer is chasing those ‘limited-production-out-of-reach for basically everyone’ dollars. We keep seeing these cars being offered to the ultra-wealthy repeatedly.
A new Ford GT will mirror the last; pre-qualified wealthy people buying their 15th car as a 18 month investment before flipping it on Barrett Jackson. Unused GT after unused GT flood the market and are traded between folks with 7-figure savings accounts paying a new car+ premium for what is essentially a used car.
It’s nice to hear that SOME ’17+ GTs are hitting the tracks, but the values these cars commanded immediately following their release was insane.
I’ve seen some GTs in person and it is a technological masterwork that is beautiful to boot. But it always belonged to some wealth manager or banking executive who had nothing in common with the average car guy.
“It’s a rare color for this car. I’m not a fan of pale blue and orange, but my portfolio manager said this was the one to get for maximum return on investment.”
Corvettes have always held an advantage as they were generally cars which were mass market. Maybe Toyota’s GR/LFR V8 supercars are too.
If Ford keeps at this for another 16 years, they can finally get around the IP infringement thing and make a GT41.
I have still never seen a second gen GT IRL
“Is Ford Building A New GT?”
Even the rumor of such a thing makes me ecstatically happy for wealthy people.
/s. (In case that wasn’t clear.)
Given your username, I feel like this is the rare case where the /s wasn’t necessary. 😉
Well it ain’t “Poor Bastard” so I figured the note was warranted.
This sounds more like the rumored Mustang sedan to me
If it’s a road car it’s probably Red Bull’s RB-whatever it was but a Ford GT.
What a waste of financial resources.
Because we can’t bother with a nice reasonably-priced RWD EV/Hybrid sedan or wagon that hundreds of thousands of people around the world would want to buy – can we?
If you ask ford, that’s exactly why that Mock E is. Base is RWD and $40k is reasonably priced according to Ford. Majority of customers want a CUV type body not a sedan or especially a wagon.
I love wagons as well, but the market at large does not.
If the majority of people want a CUV, why is Toyota still selling a quarter million Camrys a year?
If you’re going to only sell one, do you mimic the 234,000 sales of the Camry, or 358,000 sales of the Rav4? The base MSRP difference is $550 with the Rav4 being more expensive.
Neither sell only one vehicle.
In the US, Toyota has two sedans on the best seller list – plus 7 C/SUVs, two trucks, two sports cars, and a couple other small cars.
Ford has 6 C/SUVs, four trucks and a sports car – including the best selling vehicle in the United States – but no sedans, and no other small cars.
So Ford has no room for a sedan or small car of any kind – but a third reprisal of a supercar from the 60’s gets a thumbs up?
Ford still builds the Focus, they just don’t sell it here. Bet they have plenty of market research telling them not to.
My point is Ford sells a RWD EV in the US, but it’s not a sedan or wagon because they don’t sell as well here despite dozens of people including yourself wanting exactly that. They have reasons for doing so, even if you think the reasons are dumb.
Halo cars are important to brands. They generate media coverage, push capabilities that eventually trickle down to the mainstream product, provide a brand identity, and improve employee morale. Sure they’re toys for the rich, but the value both renditions of GTs retain today tell me they were good investments by Ford.
A 2005 w gt350 engine is my choice. Maybe with a twin clutch because I have a bad knee.
Agreed. If I hit the lottery I’d buy that immediately. In the considerably more attainable category, there’s Race Car Replicas or Super Performance. Attainable as in available though, as neither is what I’d call cheap. I’d imagine you could get either with a DCT.
Hell yeah, hope they do
Since it’ll be a tiny engine powering the F1 car, they should use a detuned version in an updated original Mustang, the midengined lightweight one, to compete in the Miata’s market. If they could do that for $35-$40k for a base car, with a manual of course, it would be fantastic.
It would be nice to see a Ford grab the overall on the 60th anniversary of the all-American LeMans win.
Another GT like the first one ($139,000 MSRP in 2005, approximately equal to 3 base Vettes or 1.5 Vipers of the time) would make a very compelling mid-engine competitor to the higher trims of the C8. Something like $180-200K MSRP today.
Another GT like the second one (unobtainable without a ridiculous application process, priced more like 10 base Vettes) would not move the needle for me at all.
As much as I’m a diehard Ford car guy, I agree with you. The ’17 GT was basically unobtainium – you weren’t going to know anyone who has one, or see one on the road, and that just killed it for me.
I’d love it if Ford split the difference here like is has with the Mustang, just in reverse. Build the race spec one, then de- / appropriately-content it for regular sale.
Agreed.
People seem to finally be tracking the 2017 GTs in numbers though. So at least the 2nd generation is getting used, even if it took a while to get there.
I still question my decision to ultimately not get an ’05 in 13-14. Prices were at the absolute bottom. They were as cheap as they’d ever be. However the doors would’ve ultimately influenced where I had to live (space in garage) and although it’s not too hard to have it worked on competently, parts may be an issue in time.
It’s a decision of mine I will always question a bit.
I also had the chance to buy one (more accurately trade the Viper for one) a couple years after you. It wouldn’t have been cheap and the car wasn’t perfect but the car was priced under original MSRP ($129k I think? With some miles and a deer hit on the carfax). From a pure financial perspective it was a big mistake not to buy it. From an enjoyment perspective, would I have had as much fun in the GT as the Viper this last decade? Harder to say. Like you, I’ll always wonder though.
I would’ve went for nicer ones. Probably $170ish, so ~$190 all done.
When I think about it…
* I could use all the 981 Spyder, and SRS I’ll have more confidence.
* The 981 Spyder and SRS have narrower bodies better for b-roads
* The 981 Spyder and SRS are shockingly practical and easy to use
* Top-down. I’ve determined “special” cars need to not have a roof.
* I’ve wintered the 981 Spyder without worry. Ford GT needed Car #2.
* I don’t have long-term part or upgrade concerns on the Porsches.
The Ford GT?
* Manual. The 981’s was fantastic though. SRS may get a swap in time
* Seeing the supercharger working away behind you is too cool
* Better exhaust note than the SRS’s stock exhaust, no doubt.
* Would get more notice. The SRS def gets attention, GT would be more
Porsche was probably the right play in the end, but the GT was the GT. No manual aside, the SRS was the car I always wanted Porsche to build.
*Yawn*
If they did release a new GT, they would all go to the billionaires who will immediately place them in a heated, hermetically sealed location for eternity*. I’d be more interested if the Probe made a return to fight it out with the GR86 or the Capri returns as a Miata fighter.
*Excepting the one guy who will floor it, lose control, wrap it around a telephone pole, and split it in half.
Pretty much this, tend not to get excited about much of anything in that segment.
Agreed, esp. on the Probe.
And don’t forget the guy who gets one and turns into a youtuber to end up destroying it for clicks.
A GR86 or Miata fighter would be nice. I’d seriously doubt it happening though.
Everyone loves the idea of this, but the GR86 and Miata are already too small a pie for another manufacturer to try to take their own piece of.
Sports cars, even the cheapest ones out there, are not pushing volume for a multitude of reasons. Adding another one won’t help them in aggregate.
EDIT: I say this as former owner or champion of both the Miata and Toyobarus.
Well, LMDh’s are technically sportscars for sportcars racing, so I’ll bet Ford will unveil their new LMDh in a Red Bull livery to go along with the Red Bull/Racing Bulls’ 2026 livery launch on January 15th
I was thinking its going to be some sort of mashup with something Red Bull has put out there previously, just repowered as a Ford.
At the very least, I’m looking forward to seeing “powered by Ford” decals used appropriately again.